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From Historic Roadsides of New Jersey by The Society of Colonial Wars in the State of New Jersey, 1928
Edited by GET NJ, COPYRIGHT 2002
Somerset County was first settled by the Dutch and was
set off from Middlesex County as a separate County in 1688.
BASKING RIDGE
Points of interest:
PLUCKEMIN
In the village graveyard is buried Captain William Leslie,
son of the Earl of Leven, killed January 3, 1777, at Princeton.
His monument was erected by Dr. Benjamin Rush of
Philadelphia.
VICINITY of Pluckemin
Settled by Scotch Proprietors.
VICINITY of Basking Ridge
One mile southeast of Basking Ridge stood "the Buildings," the house erected in 1761 by
Lord Stirling, a Major General in the Continental Army during the Revolution and subsequently the scene of many social
events. A part of the original house is incorporated in the
present structure.
Six miles northwest of Somerville. Site of
encampment of part of the American Army during the winter
of 1778-9. The village was raided by the British in December,
1776. St. Paul's Church was used as a temporary prison for
two hundred and thirty British soldiers taken prisoners, at
Battle of Princeton.
SOMERVILLE
Of Revolutionary or post-Revolutionary
origin. At the out-break of the Revolution, a tavern stood on
the site of The Somerville House. Millstone was the County
Seat and when the Court House there was burned by the
British October, 1779, the County Seat was removed to Somerville, then called Raritan, about 1784. A Court House and
jail built of logs was constructed. The place continued to be
known as Raritan until 1809-10. The Church of Raritan was
organized March, 1690. The church was burned in 1779 by
the British under Colonel Simcoe, and was subsequently rebuilt
in combination with the Court House, the congregation contributing one-half of the total cost, and the County paying the
balance.
The first Somerset County Court House was erected at Six Mile Run, now Franklin Park. The site was marked November 15, 1910, by a boulder placed by the Historical Society of Somerset County, bearing a bronze tablet furnished by the Society of Colonial Wars in the State of New Jersey. It is placed upon the southeast corner of the lot facing the road from Franklin Park to New Brunswick.
Somerville was the home of Frederick Frelinghuysen, a member of the Continental Congress at the age of twenty-two, who saw service at Trenton and Monmouth, and subsequently became United States Senator.
MILLSTONE
The second Somerset County Court House
was at Millstone. On October 28, 1911, the Society of
Colonial Wars in the State of New Jersey, the Sons of the
Revolution and the Somerset County Historical Society erected
a bronze tablet on the site to commemorate this building.
FINDERNE
In the town of Finderne, about three miles
from the Wallace House, is the Van Veghten House, which
was occupied by General Greene and his staff during the winter
of 1778-9.
BOUND BROOK
Supposed to have been originally called
Boundary Brook. Settled about 1700. Americans defeated at
Bound Brook 1777 by British, under Cornwallis. Site of engagement marked by boulder, at east end of Main Street, bearing bronze tablet commemorating the Battle of Bound Brook,
April 13, 1777, between General Lincoln and the British
Troops.
SOUTH BOUND BROOK
Staats or Latourette House. Headquarters of Baron Steuben while Continental Army was at
Camp Middlebrook.
On road from Bound Brook to Somerville, Van Horne House. West of the Middlebrook, north of the highway from Bound Brook to Somerville, home of Philip Van Horne, a Judge of the Common Pleas of Somerset County in pre-Revolutionary days. In winter of 1778-9, occupied by Lord Stirling as his headquarters.
CAMP MIDDLEBROOK
Site of the encampment of Washington and his army from May 28 to June 14, 1778. The first
camp was in Washington's Valley about one mile from Martinsville, three miles from Bound Brook. Three earth forts
were erected guarding the Valley, one of which still exists in
a good state of preservation. The second encampment at
Middlebrook was from November 28, 1778, to June 3, 1779.
The site of the encampment has now been taken over by the
Borough to be maintained as a public park.
ROCKY HILL
Fourteen miles from Somerville, four miles
from Princeton, mansion built 1734 by judge John Berrien,
appointed judge of Somerset County 1739 and Justice of the
Supreme Court 1764. Washington's headquarters from
August 24 to November 10, 1783. Here he wrote his farewell
address to the Army. Rocky Hill has been furnished by dif-
ferent Societies and contains a collection of most interesting
relics.
BERNARDSVILLE
Tablet marking route of Washington to
Morristown.
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